1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a charged particle beam apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, a charged particle beam apparatus has been known in which a needle that is movable by an actuator is disposed in the apparatus, an observation image obtained by a charged particle beam is displayed on a display device, and the needle is moved to a position that is indicated in the observation image by a user interface operated by the operator. An example of such apparatus is disclosed in JPA-2000-147070.
In the apparatus of the background art, there is the case where the needle is automatically moved to a predetermined position, such as the case where, when the needle is not used, the needle is automatically retracted to the outside of the observation area. When, in such a case, the needle is linearly moved from the current position to a preset position or a predetermined position which is instructed through the user interface, there is a possibility that the needle makes contact with another component of the apparatus that exists on the movement route.